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Published: April 21st 2008
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bad food, good view
Taking a break from skiing and snowboarding to eat overpriced microwaved pizza. Our experience in Spain up to this point had been wonderful and we had been on some great trips both in the country and outside of it, but there was one great North American tradition that we were beginning to miss - the road trip. So we paired up with experienced roadtrippers Nadine and Aaron, rented a car, and set our sights on the snow capped peaks of Andorra. If you aren’t familiar with the country of Andorra (as I wasn’t prior to the planning of this trip), it is a tiny country stuffed between France and Spain, atop the Pyrenees, full of amazing skiing and duty free shops where bottles of absinthe cost no more than 5 euros. It is possible to cross the entire country in hour.
The trip up was very enjoyable. Nadine has an amazingly heavy foot for such a small person and we made great time on the road until we realized a great Spanish truth: there are many ways to get anywhere in Spain - but only one way is the right way. Often two signs will point in different directions with the same city name on both. Both will lead to the destination.
driving in the mountains
I love having other people's lives in my hands One will take five times as long. But after a few hours of getting lost in Barcelona, backtracking, and paying and repaying the same tolls, we found the border of Andorra. We stayed in lovely Pas de la Casa, which from the border can be reached two different ways (once again). With a fifty-fifty chance of getting there the easy way through a newly built tunnel, I chose the steep winding path up one side of the mountain and partway down the other. Had I been able to see how steep the drop off the edge was, perhaps I would have been more nervous driving. However it was pitch black and by the time we arrived all we could think of was a meal and comfortable beds.
Our first day of skiing and snowboarding was good, but with a few mishaps. Nadine fell and hurt her wrist during her snowboarding lesson, leaving me as the sole rookie snowboarder for the next day and a half. She, ever the optimist, hiked around the town, bought us some groceries, and never complained once. Kris and Aaron took off to explore the vast number of trails and I progressed from terrible to
not so bad with the help of a very good snowboard instructor.
That evening we took a drive into Andorra’s capital to visit the self-proclaimed biggest and best spa in Europe. The outside of the structure certainly was impressive and the price made us believe that we were in for a luxurious experience. Too bad it was cold cold cold, with cheesy décor and loud loud loud Spanish tourists. It was, however, fun to play spot the bruised skiers and snowboarders game.
By the next day I felt up to a few runs before my next lesson and Aaron and I said goodbye to Kris so that he could throw himself down steeper runs than either of us were comfortable with. The two of us tried to plan a route that would take us to some new scenery without hitting any red or black (difficult) runs. Although I am not afraid of heights I found our chair lift very steep and high, and therefore a bit daunting - especially because I had only recently learned how to get off a lift without falling on my ass. As Aaron also felt a bit apprehensive, we prepared early by raising
the view
one of many nearby peaks in lovely Andorra the bar and positioning ourselves just before reaching the top. And then we fell off. You see, these particular seats tilt to allow you to get off more easily once you are at the top - a fact that neither Aaron nor I took into account. So when we leaned forward too early the seat tilted and we slid off - very nearly tumbling backwards down the steep and rocky mountain. Luckily we were both able to grab the chair lift and hung on for dear life as we were pulled over the brink to safety, then run over by the chair and squished into the snow. My glove got caught in the seat and dragged me a little ways extra until the attendant stopped the lift to yell at us for being dumb and help us get out of the way.
And now my nerves were shot. And when that happens I get the giggles. They wouldn’t stop until we realized that our trouble was not quite over. The blue (easy) run that we had hoped to take was closed. That left a steep looking red run and a mind-boggling black. The thought of going back to the lift operator and asking to be put back on the chairlift motivated me to give the red a try. I managed to stay upright and get in the way of several much more competent skiers, as well as get back down the mountain in time for my next lesson that actually allowed me to progress from not so bad to decent. My last run of the day was fantastic.
The ride back was much faster as we now knew the direct route home. The scenery was amazing, and it was nice to return to the warm sunshine of Valencia. We vowed to return next year and to convince some of our more enthusiastic skier/snowboarder friends to join us from Canada for the adventure. If you are one of those people and you are reading this…you know you want to.
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Joel
non-member comment
niceness!
Hi guys! Nice work riding in Europe. I'm jealous. Ski season is over for me now. Thanks for the laugh Dennie... Hope to see you guys at home sometime soon. Festival season is fast approaching!! ;)